


Abstract Identity

by jadeWillowtree



Series: Hatredverse and Other Things [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Gen, Gender Identity, Nonbinary Character, SHIPKIDS, Sibling Bonding, Siblings, Transphobia, albeit more background, generally just focuses on chiffon and their gender stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28759062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadeWillowtree/pseuds/jadeWillowtree
Summary: Gender was an abstract thing, in their opinion. It was a big tangled web of little details and unspoken rules.Chiffon rather liked their way instead, where they didn't have to bother with it all.
Relationships: Chiffon & Flannel
Series: Hatredverse and Other Things [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2108457
Kudos: 5





	Abstract Identity

**Author's Note:**

> WELCOME BACK TO HATREDVERSE LADS  
> this time we're Completely separate from satin and his crew, introducing completely different characters  
> now i'm gonna clarify now that Chiffon (and their mentioned siblings) is a shipkid  
> I'm not gonna say who, exactly, their parents are. that's plot relevant babey  
> regardless i hope you enjoy 1k+ words of me heavily projecting my own gender identity shit onto an 8 year old

Chiffon had never understood the constant gendering of things. Growing up without any cisgender siblings tends to do that to you. It seemed just obnoxious, and useless. What was the point of it all? To sell more stuff? Chiffon may be eight, but they knew what money was. Their father’s clients gave him large sums a lot when he brought them home.

Their father had used to call them by different pronouns. All of their siblings did. Back then they didn’t notice the uncomfortable itch that settled just beneath their bones, gnawing away at them. The only one who did seem to notice their feelings was probably their big brother.

Flannel was always so good with words, and knowing when they just needed someone to talk to. They had been pretty little when he had changed his name and started wearing his hats, but the transition wasn’t particularly difficult. Flannel was still their family, after all. Why wouldn’t he?

So it wasn’t surprising when he gently brought them into their shared room one day after the itch had gnawed worse than they had noticed. He sat them down, and helped them take off the skirt their father had bought the week prior. They were given an old pair of sweatpants to change into, and a bigger, baggier sweater that they practically drowned in. When their clothing was more comfortable, more soothing to the itch, Flannel picked them up and sat them on his lap.

They talked for a while, just sitting on the bed. Chiffon was curled up into him, and Flannel had loosely wrapped their arms around them. Their conversation had extended on even after Arsenic wandered in to lay down. They kept their voices down in order not to disturb her, but they did get a pillow thrown at them when Chiffon laughed too loudly. Big siblings can be jerks, sometimes.

Chiffon thought they felt better after Flannel tucked them into bed. At least, they thought they did. The itch had abated, and the clothes they wore were soft and warm, practically engulfing their small figure. And yet when they woke up the next day, the itch had returned. Chiffon only noticed the itch properly that next day, when their father got them dressed for school. The skirts and dresses were _fine_ , they were pretty, they just. Didn’t feel _right_.

They supposed that was when things had hit their climax. It only took a few searches on the Undernet on the school’s shitty computers to figure out what was up. Chiffon knew what transgender meant. None of their siblings were cisgender after all. They doubted that Plume would keep her pronouns and gender when she was old enough to understand more. But on that day, Plume was nothing more than a distant thought. She didn’t even exist then, after all.

Nonbinary was the term Chiffon had found that day. Someone who didn’t identify with the gender binary. It was a lot of big words for them, in their own opinion. But they could search up the terms, and figure things out from there. They weren’t the brightest kid, but it was simple enough. 

The label fit almost painfully well. The itch, which they had only recently noticed, was soothed at knowing what they were. They weren’t stupid, or weird, for feeling how they did. It made sense, finally. The real test would be telling their family.

It wasn’t like Chiffon thought they’d be rejected. Their father wasn’t perfect by any means, but he had always been accepting of them. He transitioned into using preferred names and pronouns with the ease he sported smoking his cigarettes. It was simple for him, nothing major. They were his kids, after all.

It took them a while to build up the courage to tell their father. In little pieces, their siblings were informed of what they were. Only the twins were confused about the exact term, but they picked it up quickly. Thinking back on it, it wasn’t difficult. They weren’t afraid to tell their siblings, after all. Their father was the main obstacle.

Eventually, Chiffon was able to talk to him. They weren’t certain if he had been drunk that day or not, but regardless, they managed it. It was late afternoon when they hesitantly asked their father if they could talk, just for a moment. He pulled them onto his lap and told them they could talk to him whenever they needed to. It was nice.

And then they started talking. Talking about their conversation with Flannel. Talking about the itch. Talking about their research, and the term they had found. Throughout it all their father simply sat and listened, gently holding them and nodding along. He didn’t look at them like they were a foolish child, or like they were someone to indulge. They were looked at like someone who’s opinions were valued. And it felt good.

The day after, everyone was consistently using their pronouns correctly. It felt amazing, to hear their family use what they had picked out. The day after that, their father took them to the clothing store they usually frequented, and told them to pick whatever they wanted. Just for that day. It was amazing.

Things couldn’t always be that wonderful, though. Next came the struggle of school. The itch returned in a violent flurry when the teachers and other students used their old pronouns. It almost hurt, in a non-physical way. And when they brought it up to their father, and to Flannel, the two seemed to grit their teeth silently.

That was how their family’s little fight with their school started. It wasn’t the best school, mostly because all of the better ones costed too much money for their father to afford. He did his best to keep them afloat, at least. Regardless, he waged war with the school until Chiffon stopped coming home with an angry itch and a couple of tears. The time they came home with a bruise on their cheek was the day they were pretty sure was hell for their teachers.

They wouldn’t have known, though. They had spent the next school day at home eating a rare treat of ice cream with one of the twins who had gotten sick a few days prior. Probably Misery. She had a habit of getting sick easier than her brother.

But while they ate their ice cream, their father waged war. And when he came home to hug them, everything felt right in the world. Sure, things in their life still sucked, but they had their dad, and their family on their side. Nothing could hurt them in that moment.


End file.
